The Mother of All Cities

Jerusalem remains a city holy to Jews, Muslims, and Christians. A long-time resident of that ancient place has a new book about life in, and the history of, Jerusalem: Jerome Murphy-O'Connor Keys to Jerusalem: Collected Essays (Oxford UP, 2012), 360pp.

About this book the publisher tells us:

Jerome Murphy-O'Connor has lived in Jerusalem for 48 years, during which time he has taught graduate students its history and archaeology, and also compiled a bestselling archaeological guidebook for visitors.
The current volume provides an initial survey of the history, archaeology and theology of Jerusalem, but the twelve articles that make up the body of the book deal with problems that the author feels have not been given a satisfactory solution. Thus Murphy-O'Connor discusses the precise location of a number of important buildings, i.e. the Temple, the Antonia and the Capitol and also treat of events in the life of Jesus that are located in Jerusalem; his dispute with the money-changers in the Temple, his agony in the garden of Gethsemane, his route from Pilate to Golgotha. The previously unpublished chapters dealing with the Christian Quarter are perhaps the most original. They describe the creation of the Christian Quarter in 1063 and define its limits relative to the present Old City. Its two most important buildings, the Holy Sepulchre and the great Hospital of the Knights of St John, are treated in great detail. The concluding chapter is a classified bibliography of sources for the study of Jerusalem.

Thoughtfully illustrated with maps, photographs, and diagrams, this book is a mine of information for specialists working on Jerusalem, and for the interested reader with some prior knowledge of this fascinating and complex city.

• Lays out the full argumentation for the authenticity of the Holy Sepulchre in detail

• Provides a complete study of the Christian Quarter in Jerusalem

• Explains the historical route of the Via Dolorosa and specifies how the traditional route came into being

• Uses a close literary analysis of all the gospel texts to suggest what really happened at Gethsemane

• Provides arguments supporting the traditional locations for the Temple and the Antonia

Jerome Murphy-O'Connor has lived in Jerusalem for 48 years, during which time he has taught graduate students its history and archaeology, and also compiled a bestselling archaeological guidebook for visitors. The current volume provides an initial survey of the history, archaeology and theology of Jerusalem, but the twelve articles that make up the body of the book deal with problems that the author feels have not been given a satisfactory solution. Thus Murphy-O'Connor discusses the precise location of a number of important buildings, i.e. the Temple, the Antonia and the Capitol and also treat of events in the life of Jesus that are located in Jerusalem; his dispute with the money-changers in the Temple, his agony in the garden of Gethsemane, his route from Pilate to Golgotha.

The previously unpublished chapters dealing with the Christian Quarter are perhaps the most original. They describe the creation of the Christian Quarter in 1063 and define its limits relative to the present Old City. Its two most important buildings, the Holy Sepulchre and the great Hospital of the Knights of St John, are treated in great detail. The concluding chapter is a classified bibliography of sources for the study of Jerusalem.

Thoughtfully illustrated with maps, photographs, and diagrams, this book is a mine of information for specialists working on Jerusalem, and for the interested reader with some prior knowledge of this fascinating and complex city.